Garment retaining packages



June 22, 1965 E. SCHLANGER 3 GARMENT RETAINING mcxmms Filed March 16, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTO R fags/v55 cum/( '51? BY 4 z-l ATTORlN EY June 22, 1965 E. SCHLANGER GARMENT RETAINING PACKAGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 16, 1962 INVENTO [UGENA' 5cm. ANQER acawim ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,190,435 GARMENT RETAINING PACKAGES Eugene Schlanger, 8100 Bay Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. Filed Mar. 16, 1962, Ser. No. 180,160 5 Claims. (Cl. 2067) This invention relates to garment retaining packages.

Particular reference is made in this description as to merchandising, shipping and packaging of articles such as brassieres. However, the structures here described may have application in the packaging'and display of other articles of merchandise. As is well known, articles such as brassieres are shaped to conform to and fit upon the bust of a woman. Such articles are displayed for sale purposes; in such displays, it is desirable that the articles have as pleasing a form as possible in order that the prospective purchaser may visualize the exact shaping the article will assume when put to use. In the case of such articles, it also is necessary to consider proper packaging for shipment, so that the article may be protected so completely as not to be deformed from the shape by which it will have a pleasing impact for merchandising purposes, as well as for use.

Since a brassiere has two members, if such an article be packaged in the form it assumes when in use, the package would require a large amount of cubic space both for shipment and display, and fOr storage before the article would be placed on display for sale.

It is an object of the invention to provide a structure for packaging, shipping, displaying and storing articles so that a single article, such as a brassiere, may be stored in a minimum space until actually sold for use, and also so that the packaging permits producing a pleasing effect when the article is placed on display, wherein this is effected without deformation or change of the article from its packaged form at any time throughout its movement from the factory to the hands of the buyer.

It is an object of the invention to provide a simple structure which provides for simple assembly of the package itself, as well as the positioning within the package of the article to be housed within the package, as well as the assembly of advertising matter with the package.

It is an object of the invention so to package an article as fragile and distortable as a brassiere or the like in a manner that a prospective buyer may handle the article and inspect it closely without producing any distortion of the article itself, and without any possibility of discoloration or other marring of the sales appeal of the article.

It is an object of the invention to provide a structure capable of accommodating itself for the reception of articles of different sizes, within limits, and yet of permitting substantially the same method of display for articles of different sizes within a single structure.

It is an object of the invention to provide a housing for an article, such as a brassiere, so that in the movement of such an article from its place of manufacture to its sale finally to a consumer, different diverse, many sized articles may be stored compactly readily within a small space by stacking one upon the other, and yet without interfering with or distorting the general structure of the brassiere itself.

The structures of brassieres are well known. Some are stiffened to retain their shaping by the use of various devices or materials, or both, including the use of fabrics which themselves tend to retain an imparted form. Some,

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although properly patterned, are so soft that only when worn do they actually assume the shaping of the bust to which they are to be fitted. Different methods are used in order to arrive at a desired dimensional shaping. The final desired result is that the desired shaping of the article be as close as possible to that of the bust of a woman who wears the brassiere, and this result should be attainable immediately that the article is purchased as well as throughout the life of the brassiere.

In manufacture, in storage, and in sale, the protuberances defined by the shaped cups of a brassiere present factors which must be considered both in connection with the volumetric dimensions of the space requiredfor storage as well as during shipment. Thus, it is desirable that the brassiere be given a finally determined shaping before it is packaged and shipped. In such cases, it is desirable that such articles thereafter be protected against deformation at the various stages of movement from factory,

through shipment, through storage, through display, and finally through delivery at the time of sale.

Brassieres, in their various sizes for the different busts to which they are to be fitted, otherwise might create a complex problem as to the provision of suitable devices for housing, transporting and displaying their every different size, thickness of material, and the like.

It is an object of the invention to provide a packaging device which is effective for the reception of brassieres of various sizes, and made of apparently any kind of material, and to retain such brassieres, so made, so that they may be shipped, stored, and displayed, readily, before and at the time of delivery to the customer, and all while the article to be sold substantially is shown in an undisturbed form.

It is an object of the invention to provide a shipping or retaining device for a brassiere in which may be housed the cups or like members of brassieres, the cups then being positioned one upon the other, and certain loose parts of the brassiere carried by the cups being disposed simply and easily in association with the superposed cups, all without distorting the cups. Yet a single size of device of this construction is capable of receiving and housing brassieres within a range of sizes, thus eliminating the necessity of matching different sizes of brassieres to different sizes of housings.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device in which a brassiere may be stored, by means of which the brassiere itself may be placed on display when the storage device with its retained brassiere is removed from its mass shipment container, so that the brassiere so packaged becomes an instantaneous selling device, as well as serving as a storage device.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device for retaining a brassiere in such form that it may easily be displayed for sale purposes, but wherein the article itself is protected, during handling by a customer, against soiling, or against distortion from the condition in which the brassiere was set up at the time of its manufacture and packaging, that such condition may continue until such time as when the device and the brassiere housed therein are sold to a consumer.

It is an object of the invention to provide a simple housing device capable of production by a very simple operation, which operation may also be used for the purpose of assembling elements in association with the hous ing device for displaying advertising.

Other objects of the invention will be set forth hereinafter, or will be apparent from the description and the drawings, in which is illustrated an embodiment exemplifying the invention.

The invention, however, is not intended to be restricted to any particular construction, or any particular arrangement of parts, or any particular application of any such construction or arrangement of parts, or any specific method of operation or use, or any of the various details thereof, even where specifically shown and described herein, as the same may be modified in various particulars, or may be applied in many varied relations, without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, of which the exemplifying embodiment, herein shown and described, is intended only to be illustrative, and only for the purpose of complying with the requirements of the Statutes for disclosure of an operative embodiment, but not' to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied.

On the drawings, in which the same reference characters refer .to the same parts throughout, and in which is disclosed such a practical construction,

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a display storage device embodying features of the invention, and illustrating the manner in which a brassiere may be associated therein;

FIG. 2 is a rear view, similar to FIG. 1, of the display storage device, with the brassiere shown nested on itself in the container;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view, substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1, and to enlarged scale;

FIG. 4 is a transverse, horizontal cross-sectional view, substantially on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1, and to enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view, to reduced scale, of a brassiere of the type to be housed in such display storage device; and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view to illustrate the manner of stacking of finished and assembled devices for storage and shipment.

On the drawing, a brassiere 10 is shown housed within a display storage device 12 in a manner so that it may be placed on display for sale. Brassiere 10 may consist of the usual cups 14 and 15 and the attendant fabric portions 16 including the intermediate connecting member 18, flaps 20, and straps 22, all of which are conventional. In FIG. 1, cups 14 and 15 have been nested, one upon the other; the attendant fabric, consisting of connecting member 18, flaps 20 and straps 22, has all been folded to be housed within cavity 24 of bottommost cup 14.

Device 12, as here shown, may be made of translucent material, as, for instance, any one of the plastics, particularly those which may be formed by pressing sheet material in a suitably shaped mold. Device 12 may comprise two members 28 and 30. Topmost member 28 and bottommost member 30 are formed with projecting, substantially conical protuberances 32 and 34 so dimensioned as substantially to match each other when nested as shown, although, in the instances here shown, they are not contoured exactly alike.

For member 28, a sheet of translucent material is shaped, as, for instance, by pressing in a mold, so that, except for protuberance 32, and the shaping of the sheet from its normal fiat shape to flow from edges 36 of that fiat shape to the shaping of the protuberance, the flat plane disposition of the sheet retains its substantially uniform flat contouring in member 28. Any desired shaping may be imparted to side edges 36 of the sheet beyond protuberance 32. A top edge 38 is provided as an outermost boundary at the top of the device.

Member 30 may have a different form in that, close to its edges 40, 42 and 44, the molding of its flat sheet is such as to produce an offset 46. Likewise, extending angularly away from portions of edges 40 and 44, and

spaced downwardly from top edge 48 of member, this offset is continued. While, in the structure shown, offset 46 takes a geometrical form,such specific shaping is not essential. The purpose of the offset is to provide a cavity 50 which, for structural reasons, is spaced inwardly from edges 40, 42, 44 and 48.

When members 28 and 30 are disposed with boundary faces 52 and 54 in contact, face 52 being the inside face of member 28, that portion of the sheet left substantially planar by the molding operation, and face 54 being the inside face of member 30 which is not a part of offset 46 and is substantially planar, cavity 50 will provide sufiicient space to receive and house brassicre 10 in a collapsed form such as shown.

Cups 14 and 15 are retained firmly between protuberances 32 and 34, while the attendant fabric, including connecting member 18, flaps 20 and straps 22, may be caught within cavity 24 of bottommost cup 14, as shown in FIG. 2, and be pressed by the association of protuberances 32 and 34 to sustain the cups in their assembled relationship. In' addition, some of the attendant fabric may extend beyond the collapsed brassiere, and even into those portions 56 of cavity 50 beyond portion 58 of the cavity determined by the nested protuberances 32 and 34.

Members 38 and 30 may be secured to each other in any desired manner. Faces 52 and 54 are secured to each other by a suitable method; for instance, heat sealing, or a suitable cement, or the reaction of a suitable common solvent, may be utilized. Also, as shown, suitable devices, such as staples 59, may be used at different locations, along edges 40, 42 and 44, to secure the members together in the associated relationship.

An advertising piece 64 may be assembled with the associated members 28 and 30. Such an advertising piece may be associated with top portions 60 and 62 of members 28 and 30, beyond offset 46. Piece 64 maybe used to provide an additional securing means for holding members 28 and 30 together. If desired, suitable staples 66 may be used to fasten advertising piece 64 to top portions 60 and 62, and at the same time to secure the members 28 and 30 to each other and to the advertising piece.

In storing, in shipping, and even on the open counter, a plurality of display storage devices 12 may be assembled with each other. Thus, one device 12 may be stacked upon another, as shown in FIG. 6, the cavity 68 formed within the protuberance 34 of a member 30 serving to receive the protuberance 32 of the next associated device 12. Thus it is possible to stack a large number of members one upon the other, in the same area, either for packaging, for storage, or for display, or the like.

Obviously, although a customer may not handle the brassiere itself in the sense of making direct contact with the fabric because of the protection of the housing, still she may pick up the whole package, inspect what she wants to inspect and then return the package to the counter, without having affected the brassiere itself which will retain its appearance and shaping, and remain unsoiled, for further display.

Also, by reason of the space provided by cavity 50, the same size of device may be utilized for many different sizes of brassieres, and all of these different sizes may be stacked, with proper notations upon their advertising pieces 64 of size and other information, so that the customer may pick, from such a stack, the one she desires.

Many other changes could be effected in the particular constructions, and in the methods of use and construction, and in specific details thereof, hereinbefore set forth, without substantially departing from the invention intended to be defined herein, the specific description being merely of an embodiment capable of illustrating certain principles of the invention.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. A package for retaining a brassiere comprising a pair of bust-receiving cups and other material for holding the cups assembled and for holding the brassiere on the body of a wearer, the package providing means for displaying the brassiere with its cups distended to their bust-receiving shape, the brassiere being made of materials the cross-section of which is substantially uniformly thin, each distended cup defining a substantially convex exterior and a substantially complementary concave interior, the cups being nested upon one another with the convex exterior of the inner cup seated in the concave interior of the outer cup, and with the other material housed in the concave interior of the inner cup, the cups so nested forming a cup-shaped article to be packaged, the package comprising a plurality of translucent members made of relatively stiif material capable of retaining its shape, each member having a mid-section shaped to a form substantially conforming to the shape of the cup-shaped article and having boundary portions outside of said mid-section merging substantially into a common plane, the boundary portions of one member having a boundary section off-set from the common plane of those portions, one mid-section providing a convex exterior shape substantially complementary to and received in the concave interior of said inner cup of the cup-shaped article with the other material housed in said concave interior of the inner cup seated on said one mid-section, and the other mid-section having a concave interior shape complementary to the convex exterior of said one mid-section and also to and received over the convex exterior of said outer cup of the cup-shaped article received over the one mid-section, means for retaining the boundary portion of the other member and the boundary section seated against each other to space the mid-sections from each other and provide between them a cavity substantially having the shape of and receiving and housing the cup-shaped article.

2. A package for retaining a brassiere including a pair of bust-receiving cups, the package providing means for displaying the brassiere with its cups distended to their bust-receiving shape, the brassiere being made of materials the cross-section of which is substantially uniformly thin, each distended cup defining a substantially convex exterior and a substantially complementary concave interior, the cups being nested upon one another with the convex exterior of the inner cup seated in the concave interior of the outer cup, the cups so nested forming a cupshapcd article to be packaged, the package comprising a plurality of translucent members made of relatively stiff material capable of retaining its shape, each member having a mid-section shaped to a form substantially conforming to the shape of the cup-shaped article and having boundary portions outside of said mid-section merging substantially into a common plane, the boundary portions of one member having a boundary section oft-set from the common plane of those portions, one mid-section providing a convex exterior shape substantially complementary to and received in the concave interior of said inner cup of the cup-shaped article seated on said one mid-section, and the other mid-section having a concave interior shape complementary to the convex exterior of said one midsection and also to and received over the convex exterior of said outer cup of the cup-shaped article received over the one mid-section, means for retaining the boundary portion of the other member and the boundary section seated against each other to space the mid-sections from each other and provide between them a cavity substantially having the shape of and receiving and housing the cupshaped article.

3. A package for retaining an article including a pair of cup-shaped portions made from material which is thin in cross-section and capable of being deformed readily from a desired shape, the package providing means for displaying the cup-shaped portions in their distended cup-shaped form, each distended cup-shape portion de fining a substantially convex exterior and a substantially complementary concave interior, the cup-shaped portions being nested upon one another with the convex exterior of the inner cup-shaped portion seated in the concave interior of the outer cup-shaped portion, the cup-shaped portions so nested forming a cup-shaped article to be packaged, the package comprising a plurality of translucent members made of relatively stiff material capable of retaining its shape, each member having a mid-section shaped to a form substantially conforming to the shape of the cup-shaped article and having boundary portions outside of said mid-section merging substantially into a common plane, the boundary portions of one member having a boundary section oil-set from the common plane of those portions, one mid-section providing a convex exterior shape substantially complementary to and received in the concave interior of said inner cupshaped portion of the cup-shaped article seated on said one mid-section, and the other mid-section having a concave interior shape complementary to the convex exterior of said one mid-section and also to and received over the convex exterior of said outer cup-shaped portion of the cup-shaped article received over the one midsection, means for retaining the boundary portion of the other member and the boundary section seated against each other to space the mid-sections from each other and provide between them a cavity substantially having the shape of and receiving and housing the cup-shaped article.

4. A package for retaining a cup-shaped article made from material which is thin in cross-section and capable of being deformed readily from a desired shape, the package providing means for displaying the article in its distended cup-shaped form, the article having a substantially convex exterior and a substantially complementary concave interior the package comprising a plurality of translucent members made of relatively stitf material capable of retaining its shape, each member having a midsection shaped to a form substantially conforming to the shape of the article and having boundary portions outside of said mid-section merging substantially into a common plane, the boundary portions of one member having a boundary section oil-set from the common plane of those portions, one mid-section providing a convex exterior shape substantially complementary to and received in the concave interior of the article seated on said one mid-section, and the other mid-section having a concave interior shape complementary to the convex exterior of said one mid-section and also to and received over the convex exterior of the article received over the one mid-section, means for retaining the boundary portion of the other member and the boundary section seated against each other to space the mid-sections from each other and provide between them a cavity substantially having the shape of and receiving and housing the article.

5. A package for retaining a brassiere including a pair of bust-receiving cups, the package providing means for displaying the brassiere with its cups distended to their bust-receiving shape, the brassiere being made of materials the cross-section of which is substantially uniformly thin, each distended cup defining a substantially convex exterior and a substantially complementary concave interior, the cups being nested upon one another with the convex exterior of the inner cup seated in the concave interior of the outer cup, the cups so nested forming a cup-shaped article to be packaged, the package comprising a plurality of translucent members made of relatively stiff material capable of retaining its shape, each member having a mid-section shaped to a form substantially conforming to the shape of the cup-shaped article and having boundary portions outside of said midsection merging substantially into a common plane, one mid-section providing a convex exterior shape substantially complementary to and received in the concave interior of said inner cup of the cup-shaped article seated on said one mid-section, and the other mid-section having a concave interior shape complementary to the convex exterior of said one mid-section and also to and received over the convex exterior of said outer cup of the cupshaped article received over the one mid-section, means integral with the boundary portions to be engaged and thereupon to space the mid-sections from each other to provide between them a cavity substantially having the shape of and receiving and housing the cup-shaped article, and means for retaining the boundary portions of the members engaged with each other.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENT D. 190,396 5/61 Robinson 206-78 D. 193,394 5/61 Robinson 206-78 625,822 5/ 99 Wilson 206--37 2,690,593 10/54 Abercrombie 206-80 2,950,029 8/60 Winstead. 3,029,938 4/62 Soltz 206-79 3,038,593 6/62 Root et a1 206-5 FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PACKAGE FOR RETAINING A BRASSIERS COMPRISING A PAIR OF BUST-RECEIVING CUPS AND OTHER MATERIAL FOR HOLDING THE CUPS ASSEMBLED AND FOR HOLDING THE BRASSIERS ON THE BODY OF A WEARER, THE PACKAGE PROVIDING MEANS FOR DISPLAYING THE BRASSIERE WITH ITS CUPS DISTENDED TO THEIR BUST-RECEIVING SHAPE, THE BRASSIERE BEING MADE OF MATERIALS THE CROSS-SECTION OF WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY THIN, EACH DISTENDED CUP DEFINING A SUBSTANTIALLY CAVE INTERIOR, THE CUPS BEING NESTED UPON ONE ANTHER CAVE INTOERIR, THE CUPS BEING NESTED UPON ONE ANOTHER WITH THE CONVEX EXTERIOR OF THE INNER CUP SEATED IN THE CONCAVE INTERIOR OF THE OUTER CUP, AND WITH THE OTHER MATERIAL HOUSED IN THE CONCAVE INTERIOR OF THE INNER CUP, THE CUPS SO NESTED FORMING A CUP-SHAPED ARTICLE TO BE PACKAGED, THE PACKAGE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF TRANSLUCENT MEMBERS MADE OF RELATIVELY STIFF MATERIAL CAPABLE OF RETAINING ITS SHAPE, EACH MEMBER HAVING A MID-SECTION SHAPED TO A FORM SUBSTANTIALLY CONFORMING TO THE SHAPE OF THE CUP-SHAPED ARTICLE AND HAVING BOUNDARY PORTIONS OUTSIDE OF SAID MID-SECTION MERGINGBOUNDARY PORTIONS COMMON PLANE, THE BOUNDARY PORTIONS OF ONE MEMBER HAVING A BOUNDARY SECTION OFF-SET FROM THE COMMON PLANE OF THOSE PORTIONS, ONE MID-SECTION PROVIDING A CONVEX EXTERIOR SHAPE SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLEMENTARY TO AND RECEIVED IN THE CONCAVE INTERIOR OF SAID INNER CUP OF THE CUP-SHAPED ARTICLE WITH THE OTHER MATERIAL HOUSED IN SAID CONCAVE INTERIOR OF THE INNER CUP SEATED ON SAID ONE MID-SECTION, AND THE OTHER MID-SECTION HAVING A CONCAVE INTERIOR SHAPE COMPLEMENTARY OF THE CONVEX EXTERIOR OF SAID ONE MID-SECTION AND ALSO TO AND RECEIVED OVER THE CONVEX EXTERIOR OF SAID OUTER CUP OF THE CUP-SHAPED ARTICLE RECEIVED OVER THE ONE MID-SECTION, MEANS FOR RETAINING THE BOUNDARY PORTION OF THE OTHER AND THE BOUNDARY SECTION SEATED AGAINST EACH OTHER TO SPACE THE MID-SECTIONS FROM EACH OTHER AND PROVIDE BETWEEN THEM A CAVITY SUBSTANTIALLY HAVING THE SHAPE OF AND RECEIVING AND HOUSING THE CUP-SHAPED ARTICLE. 